Hoosiers prep for collision in Columbus

The IU men’s tennis team hopes the second trip in a week to face a ranked opponent is kinder than the first.

In the earlier trek to Lexington, Ky., IU was shut out, 7-0, in a defeat to Kentucky, whose final mark was not indicative of the match’s competitiveness. Victory repeatedly eluded the Hoosiers throughout the afternoon’s encounter, which took nearly six hours to complete.

IU battled to a third set in a trio of singles bouts but faltered in all three.

The weekend’s slate of play will see the No. 29 Hoosiers (2-1) head east for the ITA Men’s Kick-Off at the Columbus, Ohio, site, where they will face No. 28 Notre Dame Saturday and No. 3 Ohio State or No. 44 Cornell Sunday.  

Despite nearly upsetting three ranked foes in singles play against the Wildcats, the Hoosiers do not currently have a ranked member on the team. The Fighting Irish have one in No. 74 Sam Keeton.

Another weapon in Notre Dame’s arsenal is sophomore Greg Andrews, who was named Big East Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week Tuesday.

Notre Dame, like IU, will enter Saturday’s contest following a defeat, having dropped its last match 4-3 to No. 17 Illinois.

IU and Notre Dame have had a common opponent in Toledo. Both schools won 7-0.
The Men’s Kick-Off, which includes 60 teams in all, will take place throughout the country at 15 different universities.

Each of these universities will have a seeded four-team tournament, and the champion will advance to mid-February’s ITA National Team Indoor Championships.

At the Columbus site, Ohio State has been seeded first, followed by IU, Notre Dame and Cornell. Saturday’s action will pit the Hoosiers against Notre Dame at 2 p.m.
Should IU prevail, it would punch its ticket to a showdown with the winner of the Ohio State/Cornell matchup at 1 p.m. Sunday.

A loss would send it to the consolation game, to be played against the other match’s loser at 10 a.m. Sunday.

— Ben Simmons